Employees Retirement System of Texas Purchases 4,824 Shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. $ENSG

Employees Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) by 39.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 16,927 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,824 shares during the period. Employees Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in The Ensign Group were worth $2,949,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Equitable Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 260.5% during the third quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 29,026 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,015,000 after purchasing an additional 20,975 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp bought a new stake in The Ensign Group during the third quarter valued at $6,157,000. Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 16.6% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 56,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,781,000 after buying an additional 8,056 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC bought a new position in shares of The Ensign Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,508,000. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC boosted its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 331,596 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,290,000 after purchasing an additional 7,495 shares in the last quarter. 96.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at The Ensign Group

In other The Ensign Group news, Director Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of The Ensign Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.21, for a total transaction of $127,547.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 22,052 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,018,094.92. The trade was a 3.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director John O. Agwunobi sold 392 shares of The Ensign Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.97, for a total value of $78,388.24. Following the sale, the director directly owned 9,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,858,721.15. The trade was a 4.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,592 shares of company stock worth $512,364. Insiders own 4.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ENSG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $222.00 target price (up from $206.00) on shares of The Ensign Group in a report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of The Ensign Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of The Ensign Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Zacks Research cut shares of The Ensign Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, UBS Group set a $230.00 price objective on shares of The Ensign Group and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The Ensign Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $216.75.

The Ensign Group Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of The Ensign Group stock opened at $171.97 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.73. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $134.79 and a 52-week high of $218.00. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $189.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $188.36.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.79 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.40 billion. The Ensign Group had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 6.89%.The Ensign Group’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.52 earnings per share. The Ensign Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.480-7.620 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 6.79 EPS for the current year.

The Ensign Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.065 per share. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. The Ensign Group’s payout ratio is presently 4.23%.

About The Ensign Group

The Ensign Group, Inc is a diversified provider of post-acute healthcare services in the United States, operating a network of skilled nursing, assisted living, independent living, home health and hospice care centers. The company’s model emphasizes integrated care by employing multidisciplinary teams—including nursing staff, therapists and physicians—to deliver personalized rehabilitation and long-term care services for seniors and other patients recovering from injury, illness or surgery.

Through its owned and managed centers, The Ensign Group offers a broad spectrum of rehabilitation services such as physical, occupational and speech therapy.